Five years ago, after 38 years of a sedentary lifestyle, I took up running. Initially because I was part of a team competing in the Race for Life, but, also, I thought I should increase my fitness levels and lose some weight

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. I’ve managed to pick up the odd injury along the way, especially after completing the half marathon

Initially, I went down the sports massage route, which really helped my poor muscles and I’m fortunate enough to live next door to a superb sports massage therapist. My problem, however, goes beyond muscles, especially my foot and ankles. It turns out that lugging my not-that-svelte self around South London for 13 miles, really look its toll. Having had 2 children and fast approaching my mid-40s hasn’t helped. Ongoing sciatica and a wonky hip has meant investigation into other solutions.

Alex Smith, Chiropractor, works from an office at Zest Gym in Sudbury and has been an award winning thebestof Sudbury member for a couple of years. After a session with him, I was already feeling the benefits

There’s an assumption that chiropractors only fix back problems, which is why, when I had issues with my foot, he wasn’t my first port of call. However, after having a general unrelated chat about my running and I mentioned my foot pain, it turned out I was wrong.

Because your spine is literally the back bone of your body, so many injuries can be helped by manipulating and realigning your spine. It reminds me of the old song, Dry Bones, It turns out my dodgy foot, connected to the leg bone, which is connected to the thigh bone, can be traced back to the wonky hip. This has affected my running and caused a nasty bit of tightness of the soleus muscle in lower leg and that has caused pain in my ankles and feet.

During my 30-minute session with Alex, he examined a selection of muscle groups, including the psoas muscle (the front core muscle coming off the spine), the ITB, Glutes, tibialis anterior and calf muscle, all of which were very tight and causing discomfort.

After examination, my left leg appears shorter than my right. This also, not surprisingly, has affected the way I run. Pressure is put on my other leg and hip and that effects my Lumbar region and lower back.

Alex worked manipulating my spine, working the muscles and clicking me back into position (through want of a better word!) and generally realigning me back to the position I’m supposed to be. I immediately felt more flexible. So now with my pelvis back in its correct location, I should be experience a more efficient performance in my running.

Despite its benefits, running can cause myriad injuries. You can read some of the more common problems, in Alex’s blog post here

I would seriously recommend giving Alex a call and booking a free spinal health check, especially if you do any sport and have an ongoing injury. It’s important to nip these issues in the bud before they become a major problem. I love my running and would devastated if I had to stop because of an injury that could have been prevented.

Click here to contact Alex. He offers a free initial consultation and spinal health check. Please don’t ignore niggling pain. You can read some of his client’s testimonials here